Environmental Law Commons^™

Federal Implementation Plans For Controlling Carbon Emissions From Existing Power Plants: A Primer Exploring The Issues, Daniel Selmi

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Much has been made of late about EPA’s authority to develop federal implementation plans (FIPs) to achieve the state-based GHG emissions reduction targets the agency is preparing establish under Clean Power Plan. Led by Senator Mitch McConnell, objectors have loudly urged states not to submit plans at all. Instead, they have argued, states need not be concerned about EPA imposing FIPs on their states. In turn, EPA has announced that it will release a draft federal implementation plan this summer.

Since 1970, Section 110 the Clean Air Act has required EPA to implement a FIP if a state implementation plan …

Legal Tools For Climate Adaptation Advocacy: Securities Law, Nina Hart

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Corporations today face increasing risks from climate change. These risks threaten not only the operations and infrastructure of the corporations, but ultimately their long-­‐‑term financial soundness as well. For example, as has been noted with respect to the oil and gas industries, refineries often do not have high profit margins because most of the profits come from extraction. Therefore, refineries, which frequently are near the coasts and vulnerable to increasing sea levels and storms surges, could suffer material financial losses if their operations were disrupted.1 To prevent this physical infrastructure or operational damage, as well as the attendant financial losses, …

Draft Nepa Guidance Requires Agencies To Consider Both Ghg Emissions And The Impacts Of Climate Change On Proposed Actions, Jessica A. Wentz

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

On December 24, 2014, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) released revised draft guidance on how federal agencies should evaluate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the impacts of climate change when conducting reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The CEQ’s new guidance does not impose any new legal requirements on federal decision-makers, but it does clarify how federal agencies should consider the effects of GHG emissions and climate change in a manner consistent with their preexisting obligations under NEPA. It is significantly more detailed than the draft guidance released by CEQ in February 2010, and unlike its predecessor, …

Legal Tools For Climate Adaptation Advocacy: Clean Water Act Permitting And Funding Programs, Channing R. Jones

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Climate change imperils the quality of water resources and aquatic ecosystems by introducing or exacerbating supply challenges and pollution threats. Existing legal frameworks, including permitting and grant programs, can incorporate climate change adaptation into the way we protect water. In particular, the Clean Water Act – the primary tool used nationwide to protect surface waters from pollutant discharges and fill activity – can be used to promote climate change adaptation in a number of ways.

The Clean Water Act was enacted in 1972 and amended in 1977 and 1987. The statute is principally administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, …

A Legal Approach To The Improvement Of Energy Efficiency Measures For The Existing Building Stock In The United States Based On European Experience, Teresa Parejo-Navajas

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Energy consumption in buildings is on the rise and represents almost half of the total greenhouse gas emissions in cities, which are the main cause of global warming on the planet. There is a great scientific consensus that improving energy efficiency of building systems and operations is a very effective way to tackle this important problem. However, despite the fact that the existing building stock has the greatest potential for greenhouse gas emission reduction, most laws and regulations have focused primarily on new buildings. Hence, improving energy efficiency in existing buildings represents a great opportunity for reducing greenhouse gas emissions …

Perceptions Of Climate Change And Water Governance Vulnerability In The Aysén Region Of Chile, Michal I. Helman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

While the majority of Chile’s intact watersheds are located in the largely uninhabited southern Patagonia regions of the country, the majority of the Chilean population lives in the nation’s parched central regions. In the face of recent trends in climatic change, including dramatic decreases in snowpack, diminishing glaciers, and shifts in precipitation cycles and seasons, mountain contributions to local watersheds are predicted to continue dwindling as aridification worsens around the world and throughout Chile. Problems associated with aridification are further complicated by Chile’s water history, which has largely revolved around the nation’s fresh water caches subject to private claims and …

The Environmental Emergency And The Legality Of Discretion In Environmental Law, Jocelyn Stacey

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

This article argues that environmental issues confront us as an ongoing emergency. The epistemic features of serious environmental issues – the fact that we cannot reliably distinguish ex ante between benign policy choices and choices that may lead to environmental catastrophe – are the same features of an emergency. This means that, like emergencies, environmental issues pose a fundamental challenge for the rule of law: they reveal the necessity of unconstrained executive discretion. Discretion is widely lamented as a fundamental flaw in Canadian environmental law, which undermines both environmental protection and the rule of law itself. Through the conceptual framework …

Looking Inward: Domestic Policy For Climate Change Refugees In The United States And Beyond, Carey Degenaro

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

Tribal Strategies For Protecting And Preserving Groundwater, Stephen V. Quesenberry, Timothy C. Seward, Adam P. Bailey

William Mitchell Law Review

No abstract provided.

I Can See Clearly Now: The Epa's Authority To Regulate Indian Country Under The Clean Air Act, Richard Duncan, Christiana Martenson

William Mitchell Law Review

No abstract provided.

Climate Change Adaptation In Indian Country: Tribal Regulation Of Reservation Lands And Natural Resources, Jamie Kay Ford, Erick Giles

William Mitchell Law Review

No abstract provided.

Redd+: Climate Justice Or A New Face Of Manifest Destiny? Lessons Drawn From The Indigenous Struggle To Resist Colonization Of Ojibwe Forests In The Nineteenth And Twentieth Centuries, Philomena Kebec

William Mitchell Law Review

No abstract provided.

"Free The Land": A Call For Local Governments To Address Climate-Induced Food Insecurity In Environmental Justice Communities, Liza Guerra Garcia

William Mitchell Law Review

No abstract provided.

Call To The Texas Legislature: The Franchise Tax Needs Substansive Changes, Not Just Rate Reductions., Alyson Outenreath

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Adapting Conservation Easements To Climate Change, Adena R. Rissman, Jessica Owley, M. Rebecca Shaw, Barton (Buzz) Thompson

Articles

No abstract provided.

Alito's Voice: Koontz And The End Of Justice Steven's Private Private Property Regulation Policy, Colin W. Maguire

Cleveland State Law Review

This article talks about the substantial distinction between a physical government invasion and a coercive request for funds, if the government action fails under Nollan and Dolan. Clearly, there is a newly recognized risk to water resource regulators who try to stop development in areas which are considered wetlands.

Please Turn Your Lights Off, The Turtles Are Nesting: Ensuring That Federal, State, And Local Laws Help Guide Endangered Marine Turtle Hatchlings In Florida To The Right Source Of Light, Cameryn Justice Rivera

St. Thomas Law Review

Part I of this paper provides background information on sea turtle behavioral patterns in nesting and hatching, while also highlighting the problems of disorientation and nesting deterrence. Part II examines federal and state laws that authorize and delegate sea turtle oversight protections, administer legal and practical protection, and attempt to enforce the laws to prevent sea turtle disturbances or deaths. Part III discusses local ordinance regulations on artificial lighting and comments on the Model Lighting Ordinance in Florida. Part IV analyzes sea turtle law coordination and conservation at the federal, state law, and local ordinance level, while commenting on a …

The Clean Power Plan: An Introduction To Cooperative Federalism In Energy Regulation, Tina Calilung

American University Business Law Review

No abstract provided.

Using A Community-Based Strategy To Address The Impacts Of Globalization On Underwater Cultural Heritage Management In The Dominican Republic, Lydia Barbash-Riley

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

This Note addresses the management of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH) in the Dominican Republic as a case study of the effects of two aspects of globalization on cultural and environmental resource management in the developing world: the international convergence of values and the horizontal delegation of state power to private actors due to economic constraints. This Note posits that even as the global community of states moves toward a consensus on the ethical management of the UCH, this convergence combined with the global trend of horizontal delegation may incentivize some lesser-developed countries to deal with the economic pressures of …

The Problem Of Shared Irresponsibility In International Climate Law, Daniel H. Cole

Articles by Maurer Faculty

States have treaty-based and customary international law-based responsibilities to ensure that greenhouse gas emissions emanating from their territory do not cause transboundary harm. However, those international legal responsibilities conflict with the observed behavior of states, which suggests a general rule of irresponsible treatment of the global commons. This paper, written for a conference (and eventual book) on shared responsibility in international law, examines that conflict and two potential mechanisms for resolving it: (1) international litigation and (2) various types of polycentric approaches to climate governance.

Several international legal scholars have been advocating litigation as a means of compensating victims and …

Energy Consumption Data: The Key To Improved Energy Efficiency, Alexandra B. Klass, Elizabeth J. Wilson

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

This Article explores recent efforts that federal, state, and local governments have taken to create regulatory frameworks to collect energy consumption data and make it available to consumers and, in some cases, to the public. Part II explains the nature of energy consumption data, the problems with not having such data readily available to consumers and policymakers, and the benefits associated with making it available to a wider range of potential users. Part III explores developing federal, state, and local policies governing energy consumption data, including how policymakers have attempted to address some of the privacy and other concerns associated …

Weed And Water Law: Regulating Legal Marijuana, Ryan Stoa

Faculty Publications

Marijuana is nearing the end of its prohibition in the United States. Arguably the country’s largest cash crop, marijuana is already legal for recreational use in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Washington DC. Between now and election day 2016, an additional 14 states may place marijuana legalization initiatives on their ballots. In addition, 23 states and Washington DC have legalized medical marijuana, with up to seven states pending legislation. The era of marijuana prohibition is rapidly coming to a close.

At the same time, traditional doctrines of water law are struggling to cope with the modern realities of water scarcity. …

Saving The Paper Tiger: Biodiversity As An Irreplaceable Element Of Our Common Cultural Heritage, Lisa Meissner

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

This Note examines the role of international law and human rights in the conservation of global biodiversity as an element of our shared cultural heritage. International instruments like the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and the World Heritage Convention have changed the discourse of international conservation law by connecting natural resources, including animal species, to incentives-based structures in local or regional communities. Such a legal foundation is critical to engaging with evolving international concepts of sustainable development and rural livelihoods protection that promote making biodiversity conservation cognizably valuable to humanity, both tangibly …

The Political Economy Of Environmental Justice: A Comparative Study Of New Delhi And Los Angeles, Ratik Asokan

CMC Senior Theses

Though mainstream environmentalism, both in the U.S. and India, was initially rooted in social justice, it has, over time, moved away from this focus. The Environmental Justice Movement consequently arose to reunite social and environmental activism. In this thesis, I trace the historical relationship between the mainstream environmentalism, the Environmental Justice Movement, and marginalized communities. After providing this general overview, I examine two case studies – in Los Angeles and New Delhi respectively – where marginalized communities have been involved in Environmental Justice activities. My analysis reveals that marginalized communities often act in an ‘environmentalist’ or ‘environmentally friendly’ manner, without …

The Past, Present, And Future Of Canadian Environmental Law: A Critical Dialogue, Jason Maclean, Meinhard Doelle, Chris Tollefson

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

In the critical dialogue that follows, Jason MacLean, an assistant professor at the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law at Lakehead University whose research focuses on environmental law, explores some of the most salient aspects of the past, present, and future of Canadian environmental law with two of Canada’s leading environmental scholars and practitioners: Meinhard Doelle, professor of law and associate dean of research at the Schulich School of Law and director of the Marine & Environmental Law Institute at Dalhousie University; and Chris Tollefson, professor and Hakai Chair in Environmental Law and Sustainability and executive director of the Environmental Law …

Putting The Train Of Environmental Protection On Track: Nova Scotia's Experiment In Using Legislation To Strengthen Environmental Law, Meinhard Doelle, William Lahey

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

This paper explores the role that legislation can play in addressing the governance obstacles to the enactment and implementation of effective environmental laws. It uses the experience of Nova Scotia under the Environmental Goals and Sustainable Prosperity Act, 2007, to suggest that legislation that codifies an integrated program of goals for improved environmental governance can help to ensure that governments follow through on their environmental policy commitments, including those promising integration of environmental policy priorities into other areas of governmental activity.

The Role Of Strategic Environmental Assessments In Improving The Governance Of Emerging New Industries: A Case Study Of Wind Developments In Nova Scotia, Meinhard Doelle, Rebecca Critchley

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

This article explores the potential for strategic environmental assessments to enhance project decisions. It does so by taking a retrospective look at Wind energy project decisions in Nova Scotia in the past 15 years, decisions that have been made in the absence of a strategic environmental assessment. The study considers both individual project approvals and two contrasting municipal responses to the emergence of the industry.

The aim of the retrospective is to identify the key challenges this industry faced in establishing itself in Nova Scotia. The article then considers to what extent the challenges could have been avoided through the …

The Role Of Strategic Environmental Assessments (Seas) In Energy Governance: A Case Study Of Tidal Energy In Nova Scotia's Bay Of Fundy, Meinhard Doelle

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

The article considers the role of strategic environmental assessments in improving decision making by government decision makers faced with the arrival of a new industry to its jurisdiction. It uses using the arrival of the in stream tidal energy industry in Nova Scotia as a case study. The article first considers the existing federal and provincial regulatory context for decisions about whether, where and under what conditions to approve tidal energy projects in the Bay of Fundy region. It then provides an overview of a strategic environmental assessment carried out on behalf of the province of Nova Scotia in 2007/2008, …

Offshore Renewable Energy Governance In Nova Scotia: A Case Study Of Tidal Energy In The Bay Of Fundy, Meinhard Doelle

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

This article considers the governance approach (including the legislative context, the regulatory system and relevant policy context) to offshore renewable energy developments in Nova Scotia, with a focus on tidal energy in the Bay of Fundy. It explores applicable regulatory processes at the federal and provincial levels as well as the contribution of strategic environmental assessments carried out in 2008 and updated in 2013. The article assesses the ability of the current governance approach to encourage integrated decision making that considers environmental, social and economic factors, such as various environmental impacts and benefits, energy security, economic development opportunities, interaction with …

Prosecutorial Discretion And Environmental Crime, David M. Uhlmann

Articles

In January 1991, just four weeks after joining the Justice Department’sEnvironmental Crimes Section as an entry-level attorney, I traveled to NewOrleans to attend an environmental enforcement conference. The conferencewas attended by hundreds of criminal prosecutors and civil attorneys from theJustice Department, as well as enforcement officials from the EnvironmentalProtection Agency (“EPA”). It was a propitious time for environmental protec-tion efforts in the United States. Less than two months earlier, President GeorgeH. W. Bush had signed the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, culminating aremarkable twenty-year period that created the modern environmental law sys-tem in the United States. My new office, …